Most people buying park homes are either semi-retired or retired and look forward to creating a small garden on the plot around their home to potter about in and enjoy now that they have the time. It comes as a shock to many, especially keen gardeners, that all they have is a small area of grass, which other than being obliged to mow every week they can do nothing else with.

The policy used by most park owners when developing or re-developing a park is to cram as many homes into the available space as possible. Most new park homes are sited at the bear minimum of six meters (20 feet) apart meaning that each home has three meters (10 feet) of garden area all the way round the home. In some cases one side of the plot (Pitch) is taken up by a hard standing used for parking the residents car and possibly a small metal storage shed, plus a large area, taken up by the steps necessary at each doorway for access into the home. Add to this a concrete walkway approximately 2-3 feet wide all the way round the actual home leaving precious little remaining room to create a garden.

As most park owners insist that their parks are strictly open plan, no fences, hedges, plants or shrubs etc can be used to denote the boundaries between homes, privacy is not possible. A note of caution should added here for anyone considering buying a new home on a park currently in the process of being developed. If you are viewing a show home, one already sited overlooking an open piece of ground or within an area of concrete bases awaiting new homes, although the home may enjoy an open aspect on at least one side, (usually the front)at present, it is difficult to imagine the boxed in effect when a home is placed on the next base, leaving you with nothing but the view of the back and sides of the next homes 20 feet away.
 

Visit any park home show and you will notice that great care has been taken by the exhibitors to create beautiful border displays crammed full of flowing plants and colourful shrubs, even elaborate garden area’s surrounding the homes in order to enhance the appearance of the homes on show.  Likewise the glossy photographs of park homes and sites accompanying the glowing park write ups appearing in the specialist magazines and park home advertising in general, all specially selected to show beautifully neat and colourful gardens.

Unfortunately for most, on new or redeveloped parks gardens are a thing of the past and parks are becoming almost devoid of any vegetation other than grass except perhaps a very limited number of plants in pots graciously permitted by the park owner at his “ absolute discretion”.  The advertising for new park homes usually states that the price of the home includes the landscaping of the pitch (plot). This means Grass will be laid to fill up the areas of the pitch not covered by concrete and/or tarmac parking spaces, access paths, a tin shed and nothing else.

From the increasing number of calls from distraught residents PHRAA is receiving lately, it is not only new park owners on new or redeveloped parks that are being deprived of their gardens, but also existing and long standing park homeowners are rapidly being affected.  This usually follows when their park changes ownership especially where the new park owner is one of the ever increasing number of unscrupulous park owners who are mainly the only ones buying up parks at present.

The usual scenario goes as follows………….The elderly residents have occupied their park home for many years. During those years they have spent hundreds of pounds on plants, shrubs, water features etc etc., spending every hour lovingly creating and maintaining a beautiful garden which is their pride and joy and in many cases has become their hobby. Imagine the devastating effect on the park home resident when the new park owner arrives on the park armed with a JCB digger, the favourite toy of the unscrupulous park owner (UPO), and proceeds to enter on to their pitch (plot) destroying their beautiful garden and everything planted in it. When challenged by the distraught homeowner the UPO, usually using abusive language, states that “it is his land and he will do as he likes” and he is making the park “Open Plan” no gardens are allowed.

Another common method used by the park owner is to send a letter to the homeowner, either written by himself or his solicitor, ordering the homeowner to remove all plants, bushes etc from their pitch (plot) within a given time. If this order is not complied with within this time, he will enter the plot, remove everything and charge the unfortunate homeowner for the work.

Any park homeowner with a pitch (plot) larger than the bear 3 metres all round the home is particularly vulnerable to this treatment especially if by taking part of their plot enables the park owner to cram in an extra home. This usually applies to the owners of older homes, (the term older homes is stated as meaning homes over ten years of age, published in an article in a Park Homes magazine by Alicia Dunne, Director of Policy for the National Park Homes Council, one of the industries governing bodies,) who may have a larger plot than exist currently.

As creating or taking pride in the garden at a park home is rapidly becoming a thing of the past and parks are becoming what one of my colleagues refer to as "Lawned Cemeteries”  the gardening writer in the Park Homes Magazine will soon become redundant or reduced to confining future gardening feature articles on how to use a lawn mower illustrated with glossy pictures of manicured bits of grass.  Perhaps this magazine could replace his feature articles with a “Find a Plant, bush or a tree on your park”  competition with a pot of concrete cleaner as a prize.

Compiled for PHRAA by Ron Joyce, General Secretary.                       July 2007.